Running Head: CULMINATION PAPER 1

Culmination Paper
John Dandoy
LRDS: 595
Azusa Pacific University
October 13, 2017
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Understanding of Leadership
As my journey of formal knowledge development of the theory and practice of leadership

began, I recall believing, in hindsight quite navely, that leadership was a simple task; a leader

has an objective, they give the appropriate directives, they mobilize the appropriate personnel,

deploy the appropriate resources, the task gets completed, and upon completion of the task the

followers are rewarded. Further, should the directives not be followed or the outlined objectives

not met there are consequences. Looking back, I now see that this was a misplaced assumption

regarding the true nature of leadership. While there is no argument against the understanding and

execution of deployment of vital personnel or resources to achieve an objective, these skills and

tasks can be elements of management rather than leadership. Therefore, I will risk the

oversimplification between management and leadership through an analogy. If the organization

is a sailboat, management is the hull, the mast, the sails, the rudder and leadership is the

compass, the map, the wheel, and the wind in the sails.
Leadership is complex and dynamic relationship of giving and receiving. Leaders are

responsible to setting the cultural standards and normative behaviors. Leaders are required to

think strategically about the vision for their organizations, how and when to mobilize resources,

how to engage, motivate, and otherwise positively influence others in their organization. Leaders

must plan for and implement organizational and cultural changes while acknowledging their

assumptions and biases about the outcome of the intended change.

The most challenging and potentially the most continual development for leaders is their

own future. Leaders must have a personal strategic plan to effectively lead themselves and

others. Leaders must have a clear vision for their purpose, and an accurate understanding of their

own strengths and weaknesses. This clarity allows for leaders to surround themselves with others

who have the natural or developed skill that complement the leaders weaknesses. Additionally,
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leaders must have a working understanding of their personal values, which should serve as the

cornerstone of the leaders respective decision-making process.

Leaders take the time to time to sharpen their saw as Stephen Covey has said. They make

time to wholelisticly approach their personal and professional lives. They honor and care for

their entire being, mentally, physically, and emotionally. They take time for introspection,

objectively reviewing the decisions that they have made and planning for the future. They openly

solicit feedback from trusted advisors as a mechanism for personal development. They have set

rituals that they frequently engage in to continue to develop their physical and spiritual selves.
Leaders are responsible for the development of their followers. In order to effectively

develop others leaders must invest in them. Leaders must take the time to know their followers

goals both personally and professionally. Leaders take into weigh each individuals potential and

assumed or expressed motivation as these factors have a direct relationship to the culture and

heath of the immediate group and overall health of the organization. They acknowledge each

individuals contribution to the goals and outcomes of the organization. Leaders also show their

followers the pro social impact that their efforts and results are having on the local and global

communities. Leaders look forward to the future knowing the impact that they have today will

leave their legacy for tomorrow.

Spiritual and Faith
I grew up in a home that honored God. I attended Catholic school and was taught by both

nuns and priests. We started our day with a prayer and the pledge of allegiance. We prayed, and

to this day still do, before we ate, giving thanks to God for the abundance that he has graced us

with. I have attended Catholic services nearly every weekend for as long as I can remember. In

short God has always been a focal point in my life.

My formal religious experience aside, the MAiL program at Azusa Pacific University

provided me with a unique challenge. I was challenged to explore the bible in a way that I had

not previously considered. I was challenged to reconsider my relationship with Jesus Christ. I
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have gone from seeing Jesus as part of the trinity, to understanding that he came to earth and

sacrificed himself to be the bridge between God, the Father, and us. Seeing His sacrifice as truly

the ultimate act of love and redemption. Love that was not obligatory and in many cases not

accepted or reciprocated, but love that was given selflessly.

Jesus made the point perpetually through out the gospels that we are not alone and that

God is ever-present in our lives asking us to recognize Him. In one especially memorable section

of the gospel, Jesus is confronted regarding the issue of paying taxes. In this story Jesus asks the

men to take out a piece of currency and tell him whose face was inscribed upon it. They

responded with Caesar. Jesus responded to them saying return to Caesar that which is Caesars,

and return unto God that which is Gods (Luke 20:20-25). In this instance Jesus again

demonstrated a number of leadership characteristics: a clear vision and integrity (Gilbert &

Matviuk, 2008). He was clear in saying that if a man has done something for you he should be

compensated. Thus, give unto Caesar that which is Caesars. Likewise, Jesus was clear in His

vision. We all belong to God the Father. There are no limitations to this relationship. God has

given us everything, our lives, our time, our talent, and our opportunities, and in return we owe

everything back to God. Further, as a leader he acted with integrity. He did not ask for glory or

for payment for his service. In fact, in the story Jesus has to ask the men to take out a coin in

order to identify the face on the coin. This is significant because as a leader Jesus was walking

his talk; he asked his followers to give up everything and follow him, he was not going to walk

around with a sack full of money. He maintained his values and continued to demonstrate his

devotion to his mission of serving God the Father through his words and deeds.

The most exceptional realization that I have come to through the study of the bible in the

MAiL program has been the ability of Jesus to transition from leader to follower so fluidly,
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demonstrating that in order to leader there are times when we must follow. As a follower He uses

intentionality and versatility for the expression of his vision (Gilbert & Matviuk, 2008). He

acted with intentionality by being willing respond to the need from one of His followers; he

made Himself available to that follower to fill a void. This is a great example of Jesus humbling

Himself, taking back his battered and broken body in order to ensure that all of his followers

fully believed in his vision. Jesus vision is to bring followership to God through the forgiveness

of sin through Jesus death and resurrection. As a follower, Jesus used versatility in this story by

directly responding to Thomas demand to feel Jesus wounds in order that he might believe. So

Jesus presented Himself again to His disciples, and instead of simply showing his wounds to

Thomas, as he did for the rest of the disciples, Jesus asks Thomas to come and put his hand in

Jesus wounds. This is a perfect example of the seemingly paradoxical, duality of leadership and

followership. In this instance, Jesus, the Son of God, humbles Himself to follow the demand of

Thomas. Then in the same setting Jesus, as the leader, commands that Thomas stop doubting and

that he believe. The duality of purpose is both simultaneous and profound.

Emotional and Social Inelegance

The ASI assessment revealed some interesting characteristics with regard to my

leadership styles and habits. As a leader, at this moment, my strengths fall into areas that are

directly influenced or centered on my skills and personal motivations. I am driven by my desire

to win. I am influenced by my need to demonstrate that I possess competency in the areas in

which I am leading others and satisfied in my ability to complete a job well done. This leads to

the conclusion based on the results of the ASI profile, that my preferred achieving styles are both

direct and relational, with room for the most improvement in the instrumental category.
In review of the meta-competencies and the leadership competencies as outlined in the assigned

reading and discussion in class, there were a number of overlapping themes that most interested
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me as a leader. A pair of such overlapping competencies is: inspiring developer and authentic

leadership. In order to be an inspiring developer one must be willing to engage in the reciprocal

mentor mentee relationship. In order for this relationship to be successful the skills needed as a

mentor are: be confident, participate in relationship building, employ a style of appreciative

inquiry, allow the mentee to learn through doing, and provide evaluations. These skills are only

effective it they are executed from a foundation of personal insight and knowledge of ones

morals and values, an open and honest presentation of ones self, and an ability to think in a non

linier was that approaches the solution around the interaction of the parts (Northouse, p.202-

203).
The extoled virtue and profound impact of EQ on ones future ability to earn and income

and future success within an organization structure as outline by Bradberry and Greaves is a

fascinating subject for me as a leader. After completing the EQ assessments it was clear that I

proficient in the areas of personal awareness, social awareness, and social management, leaving

room for improvement in the area of relationship management. However, upon deeper reflection

of my personal awareness, I realized that I have a function awareness of my emotional responses

to stimuli yet a shallow understanding of their root causes, e.g. childhood memories, deep

unrevealed emotional responses to behavior, visceral responses to hand gestures, body language

or facial expression.
In light of completion of these assessments and their respective indices of my

development as a leader and a person, I would have to say that at this moment, I am moderately

advanced in my leadership journey. I have a number of identifiable skillsets and applicable

knowledge of the leadership competencies. However, I am ready for growth and development in

the following areas: instrumental category of the ASI achievement styles, a clearer more succinct
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vision of my ethical and moral center its correlation to my leadership decision making process,

and deeper knowledge of the root causes of my emotional response mechanism.

Academic Inquiry
There are two theories that have peaked my interest as I have progressed through the

MAiL program, path-goal theory and transformational leadership theory. I have completed

research on both theories and will continue to formally explore how I can implement aspects of

both of these theories in my daily leadership practices.

The path-goal theory resonates with me because it is focused on guiding ones followers

to reach their full potential. The theory is centered on the concept that it is the leaders

responsibility to enhance the follower. As Nothouse noted, an effective leader has to attend to

the needs of followers. The leader should help followers to define their goals and the paths they

want to take in reaching those goals. When obstacles arise, the leader needs to help followers

confront them. This may mean helping the follower around the obstacle, or it may mean

removing the obstacle. The leaders job is to help followers reach their goals by directing,

guiding, and coaching them along the way (p. 286). This theory points to skills and creates

opportunity effectively enhance the leader follower experience. I will make every effort to

incorporate the supportive leadership style in every aspect of my leadership experience.

The transformational leadership theory stresses that leaders must be authentic,

demonstrate self-knowledge, honest, genuine, and engaged with ones followers. The

transformational leader must provide hope to their followers, operate from a set of deeply held

moral values, and engage with their followers in all life events both within the organization and

in their personal lives. These leaders do not just talk about their values; they demonstrate them to

their followers through their action. These are leaders who are passionate about their work and

their people. These leaders provide certainty to their followers.

Influential Resources
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Deep Change by Robert Quinn is at the top of the list for most influential resources that

come across in the MAiL program. You never really know how are you can go until you step

push yourself beyond your previous success. There is a wonderful sentiment that reminds us that

a little success can get in the way of greatness. This occurs because people become complacent

in the comfort of the little wins, the little successes. Quinn challenges that only when we step

outside of our comfort zone and walk naked into the land of uncertainty are we able to truly test

our ability to make meaningful progress and changes in our lives and our organizations.
Leading Change by John Kotter is another phenomenal resource that I have gone back to

numerous times since I first read it. Kotter has an eight step formula for organization change that

must take place in order for change initiatives to be effective with any permanency. While I

completely agree with the assertions made in the text, I have come to questions if the ordering of

the steps is a requisite or is it simply that all factors must be present for long term success. My

most preferred implementation of this text in my daily leadership experience has been creating

short-term wins for my team and my staff.

Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows is another exceptional text that I will be re-

reading as part of my on going leadership education. I particularly appreciated the notion that it

is our assumptions that affect our beliefs, which in tern affect our behaviors. In a multiple loop

analysis of ones assumptions one can effectively make progress in adjusting split second analysis

and decision making process.

Moving Forward in My Leadership Journey

As I move forward a graduate of the MAiL program I will be taking with me a litany of

meaningful tools to extensive to inimurate. These tools and approaches have seeped into my

daily life and vernacular. They have penetrated my beliefs and influenced my behaviors. These

are invaluable gifts that I will use in my future leadership positions, in my personal development,

and the development of those around me.

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One of those tools being an understanding that leadership is not a one directional tool. It

is a multidirectional skillset requiring flexibility and fluidity. Leaders do not simply lead those

who are below them on an organizational chart. Leaders lead themselves, those above them,

those below them, and their peers. Leadership is as much a privilege as it is a responsibility.

Another tool that have learned and implemented from this program has been to ask. Dr.

Barron has challenged us to limit our assumptions and ask where the other person share their

perspective and its background. Be genuinely curious about what has influenced their beliefs

and their perspectives. This is particularly salient in situations where there is a collision of

ideology. Thank you Dr. Barron.

Lastly, the notion of loyalty as a leader and as a follower has had a deep impact on

my experience as a student and as a leader. Dr. white shared his perceptive of pink shirt

loyalty. If his leader, in this case the President, called Dr. White into his office and said we are

wearing pink shirts every Friday this quarter. Dr. White would leave that meeting and

disseminate the notion of pink shirt policy as if it were his idea in order to fiercely defend the

president from critique or criticism; in this way he is demonstrating his loyalty to his leader. I

strive to be a man who can live this type of character and I am working toward developing and

inspiring this kind of loyalty in my followers. Thank you Dr. White.

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References

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional intelligence 2.0. San Diego, CA: TalentSmart.

Gilbert, J. & Matviuk, S. (2008) The symbiotic nature of the leader-follower relationship and its
impact on organizational effectiveness. Academic Leadership, The Online Journal, 6 (4).

Kotter,J.P.(2012).Leadingchange.Boston:HarvardBusinessreviewPress.
Lipman-Blumen, J. (2000). Connective leadership: Managing in a changing world. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.

Meadows, D. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea
Green.

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.
Quinn,R.E.(1996).Deepchange:Discoveringtheleaderwithin.SanFrancisco:JosseyBass.